Thinking of getting a Giraud Trimmer...

T

tburdek

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I want to upgrade my trimming tools to one of these, tired of wasting time trimming brass instead of shooting!:)

I only have a few concerns about the Giraud:
1. For those people who have one, what kind of consistency do you get for the length of the trimmed cases? How much variation in brass OAL?
2. I have heard that you need to FL size before you trim, this is a concern for me because I only neck size for some rifles. Does anyone trim their neck sized only cases with the Giraud, and do you notice any difference?
 
No regrets.

My trimmers variation is about 1.5 thou. Just make sure you twist the cartridge 180 degrees while trimming to insure a true cut.
For neck sized cases this is what they say. "Case holders for neck sized cases are available by special order. You must send me three neck sized cases to be used with the trimmer so I can fit the case holder to your brass. Contact GTC for further details if interested".
I just did 700 .308 cases in half a hour. The machine might be a little pricey but a master machanic has more than a cresent wrench and screw driver in his tool box. Get one, you won't look back.
WS
 
Power Trimmer

I bought the Gracey..... With the exchange rate the way it is recently, it's not a bad deal.... somewhere around $225.00 U.S.

It works well once set up, and trims within the advertised .002" overall variance, i.e., +/-.001". The only issue I sometimes experience is if a piece of brass trimming tumbles back into the shell holder, and prevents a case from being inserted as perfectly as one might wish, thus causing a "variance" in trim length if the brass shaving is not quickly noticed and subsequently cleared.

One small dislike I have is the length of time required to change over to a different caliber if you're loading for more than 1. I have mine set up for .308, and I just leave it set up that way. In fact, because I don't shoot any significant quantities of any other caliber, I never bothered to purchase any other shell holders, so it's a moot point for me.

I imagine the Giraud is a similar type of affair, so if you're into high speed, low effort volume trimming, one of these is absolutely the way to go.
 
Pros/cons Giraud/Gracey

Before I bought I researched the two machines and just what "oaktree" says, brass bits can interfer with the trimming in the Gracey. The Giraud trims vertically allowing all shavings to fall down away from the cutter shaft and holder.
Caliber changes are faster too for the Giraud also gives you a cutting tool already set up so no need to re-adjust this everytime as well.
Holders also have a die nut so with the witness marks on the frame reinstallation is just a matter of lining back up to a mark you made before removal.
The con is they are $375 plus shipping. (for me, mine with a second caliber was $445 shipped + GST/PST and the postal $5)

Note: for each caliber you will need a shell holder (they are $30 each), but you may not necessarily need the cutting head. For example, the same cutting head will do .30-30, .300 Win, and .308. If you do need the cutting head as well, they are $45. Extra cutting heads for other calibers saves a lot of set-up time.

WS
 
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I have already settled on the Giraud over the Gracey, because caliber changeovers are made much easier with the different holders and cutters (from what I have read and heard from others).

The biggest thing that I am concerned about is using it to trim neck sized cartridges, because in addition to my semi's, I also reload .303 British for 2 different guns and each gun has it's own brass which I neck size only (so my brass lasts longer than 3 firings). I don't want to FL size them, and I don't want to have to get two custom shellholders made... what I want to do is just get the ordinary .303 holder and use NS cases in it (not wishful thinking I hope)

I am going to get the Giraud trimmer this summer, and if this works for .303 then great! If not, whatever... the time savings for the other calibers that I load will more than make up for that. :)
 
tburdek said:
I have already settled on the Giraud over the Gracey, because caliber changeovers are made much easier with the different holders and cutters (from what I have read and heard from others).

The biggest thing that I am concerned about is using it to trim neck sized cartridges, because in addition to my semi's, I also reload .303 British for 2 different guns and each gun has it's own brass which I neck size only (so my brass lasts longer than 3 firings). I don't want to FL size them, and I don't want to have to get two custom shellholders made... what I want to do is just get the ordinary .303 holder and use NS cases in it (not wishful thinking I hope)

I am going to get the Giraud trimmer this summer, and if this works for .303 then great! If not, whatever... the time savings for the other calibers that I load will more than make up for that. :)
Click to expand...


I will sell you my Giraud trimmer. Have had the Giraud for less then a half a year, works fantastic, Just sits on my reloading bench. The caliber for the trimmer is 6mmBR Norma. PM me if your interested.
 
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if you only neck size that's fine. If I remember correctly my email from them said they recomend full length sizing "first" as some people apparently believe in trimming then full length sizing.
 
I have used a variety of case trimmers. The fastest, most accurate, and easiest to use - the Lee with the trimmer and guage mounted in a drill press and spinning constantly.
Do not, I repeat, do not use the stud and shell holder in the drill press like the Lee instructions tell you.
And it makes it much quicker if you epoxy a short handle on the locking stud for the shellholder.
 
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